Rody warns groups disrupting quarantine
PNP told: Shoot them dead
Shoot them dead. President Duterte ordered the police and the military last night to shoot dead those who will continue to hold protests that disrupt peace and order during the enhanced community quarantine.
Duterte issued the order after members of the left-leaning urban poor group Kadamay reportedly instigated a protest that turned violent over food distribution in Quezon City.
“My orders to the police and the military, including the barangay – if there would be conflict and there is an occasion that they fight and put your lives in danger, shoot them dead,” Duterte said. “Tingnan ninyo, patay, kesa magulo kayo dyan, e di ilibing ko na kayo, yang libing akon yan. Huwag ninyo na subukan ang gobyerno kasi ang gobyerno ito.”
He expressed his anger after he met with members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) last night.
“Remember, those from the Left, you are not the government. Do you understand? Hindi kayo nasa gobyerno and you cannot be a part of what we are planning to do for the nation,” the President said in a taped message aired on TV.
“Intindihin ninyo yan, kaya huwag kayo maggawa ng riotriot diyan because I will order you detained at bibitawan ko kayo pagkatapos na wala na itong COVID,” he added.
He said he could not allow lawlessness to go unpunished.
“Huwag ninyong subukan ang Pilipino. Do not try to test it. We are ready for you, gulo o barilan or patayan, I will not hesitate (to tell) my soldiers to shoot you. I will not hesitate to order the police to arrest and detain you,” the President said.
The demonstrators, including six women, belong to a group of about 150 members of the Samahan ng Makakapitbahay (Samana) and residents of an informal settlement in Sitio San Roque who flocked to EDSA in Barangay Bagong Pag-asa at around 9 a.m.
Members of the group claimed they have yet to receive food and financial aid from the city government since the quarantine to contain COVID-19 started on March 17.
Police negotiated for an hour and urged the demonstrators to return to their homes. However, the protesters resisted, which prompted the lawmen to disperse them.
Among those arrested was Samana leader Jocy Lopez, 47. She and the others were brought to the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) headquarters at Camp Karingal for investigation.
QCPD director Brig. Gen. Ronnie Montejo vowed to press charges against the protesters for violating quarantine protocols and resistance and disobedience to persons in authority.
QC Mayor Joy Belmonte urged the police to release those arrested on humanitarian grounds, but with a warning of punishment if the offense would be repeated.
She also ordered a review of the list of aid beneficiaries in Barangay Bagong Pag-asa to ensure that nobody has been inadvertently left out.
The QC government denied that no food packs were brought to the area.
“In fact, there is continuous distribution of food packs throughout the city, both from the local government and the barangays to ensure that affected families are looked after during this crisis period,” it said in a statement.
Initial investigation by the city’s Task Force Disiplina showed that an individual allegedly from a television station informed residents that food packs and cash assistance would be distributed in the area. The commotion ensued when the residents later discovered that there was no such distribution.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) blamed Kadamay – the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap – for instigating the rally.
DILG spokesman Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said Kadamay members were responsible for the incident.
Malaya said they would ask the Department of Social Welfare and Development to prioritize Quezon City in the distribution of relief assistance.
NBI summons Vico
In a related development, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday summoned Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto for possible violation of the Bayanihan Act.
NBI spokesman Ferdinand Lavin confirmed that the bureau’s anti-graft division asked Sotto to explain why he should not be charged for violating quarantine guidelines, particularly the suspension of public transportation.
Lavin denied that the NBI is singling out Sotto for political persecution, as some netizens claimed.
“It’s not only Mayor Vico Sotto. There’s another local government official, a barangay captain in Talon Uno, Las Piñas,” Lavin said. “There’s no politics here.”
Sotto had allowed tricycles to transport health workers and patients to hospitals in Pasig. But he said he stopped it days before the Bayanihan Act was passed, although he continued to defend his initial move to allow their continued operations. He said the new law cannot be applied retroactively.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said a local official could not be made accountable under the Bayanihan Act if the offense has been rectified.